Wexxon the Great Alien Warrior - Juno Wells Page 0,28
Rachel. I’ve never lost a battle before, and I don’t intend to start today.”
“And what happens if you do—”
“Don’t you dare jinx me with that perfect mouth of yours.” I chuckled before I bent to press a soft kiss against my mate’s lips. “I will be fine, my little warrior. You shall see. Meanwhile, I hope that you’ll be able to appreciate the power of the arena as you watch my fight.”
“Yeah. I don’t know about all that.” Rachel sounded so unsure. “I think I’ll just…try to find a good seat, as far back as I can possibly get, and worry about the rest later—”
“Wexxon! Wexxon!” A young child raced toward me in the middle of the street, his excitement clear in his tone. “Wexxon the Great! I’ve wanted to meet you for my entire life! I’ve wanted to meet you since the day I was born!”
“And today, you’ve been able to do just that.” I smiled down at him as I stopped in my tracks, soon crouching to be eye level with him, too. “What’s your name, little one?”
“…I’ve yet to be given one,” the child replied. “I have yet to be named.”
“Your parents did not bless you with a name at your birth?” I was intrigued by the child’s predicament.
“I have no parents,” he admitted as he moved his small body closer to my own.
“That is unfortunate,” I replied. “But it is not something you cannot overcome. I was once in your same position as well, child. And look how far I’ve been able to rise through combat in the arena—”
My words were cut short by a sharp pain beginning to emanate from my side. And when I looked down at my skin, I noticed a blade buried deep, the child’s hand still holding onto the weapon’s hilt.
“For Reddin!” the child screeched before letting go of the blade, before running back out into the crowded street.
“Wexxon!” Rachel screamed as she fell to the ground in front of me, her hands shifting down to where I’d been wounded. “Wexxon! Oh my God! Are you okay? You’re bleeding—”
Her eyes went wide once they landed on the blade’s hilt. “We need to get you to a hospital. Or a doctor. Or whatever you need. You can’t go to the arena like this—”
“I must,” I murmured, calmly angling the blade away from my skin, wincing as it slid out of me. I then covered the wound with my palm before I went on. “Injuries unrelated to the arena are not an acceptable excuse to not fight. There are very few acceptable excuses, my little warrior.”
“But you’re hurt!” Rachel argued. “How could anyone expect you to fight like this?”
“I do not have a choice.”
“But Wexxon—”
“Rachel, I cannot be seen as weak!” My voice rose as I spoke. “You are still new to the planet, my little warrior. You do not understand the consequences there will be for our family if I am thrown out of the castle.”
“I don’t care about living in a castle,” she cried. “I only care about you.”
I gently took her hand into my own as I rose away from the ground, my wound still singing with pain. “Let’s finish making our way to the arena.”
“Wexxon—”
“There is nothing else to say.” I cut her off before I began to lead her further into the town square, trying my best to not think about the tiny assassin my brother had just sent for me.
For Reddin.
Was the child meant to kill me?
No.
He was meant to wound me. I thought back to Aldvirion’s words about my brother sending in a new challenger to fight against me. With an injury like this, it was going to be much harder for me to defend myself, and much easier for me to be overtaken by a stranger. My brother intended for me to perish at one of his own warrior’s hands.
I then let the thought of my brother’s treachery seep into the back of my mind as I returned my focus to the arena, the pain at my side suddenly feeling like nothing compared to the pain of an invisible knife buried deep inside my back.
Chapter Eight
Rachel
The arena was electrifying.
The energy of the place reminded me of a circus and a sold-out rock concert, all at once, with various citizens wearing tattoos of warrior’s faces on their skin, all while creatures I’d never seen before playfully ran circles around small children, too. I’d even spotted what looked like a group of young teens smoking something that